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Tributes to Dallas actor Larry Hagman

HE WAS just like he appeared on TV - that’s what a woman from Farmoor has said about Dallas actor Larry Hagman after his death.

Robin Hallsmith spent several weeks being escorted around the UK by the Texan actor when he was serving in the US Air Force during his national service.

In the early 1950s she was part of a group of actors from Oxford University who were providing entertainment at American bases around the country and Mr Hagman, who was then stationed at RAF Brize Norton, was assigned as their escort.

The 78-year-old, who studied at Lady Margaret Hall, said: “We went around the UK in a bus we were provided with putting on numbers we had written for a couple of weeks during the holiday and he looked after us.

“He was great fun, and very lively. He didn’t like to sit around very much. He was a nice guy, and just like he was on screen.

“His mother Mary Martin was a famous actress and he was our escort officer so even when he was doing his national service he was in showbusiness, so to speak.

“It was quite unusual watching on as he become famous.”

Mr Hagman rose to worldwide fame for his portrayal of JR Ewing in Dallas which originally ran between 1978 and 1991 but he returned to the role for the updated version earlier this year.

He died on Friday, November 23 from complications from throat cancer aged 81.

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